Patrick F. Cassidy

Patrick Francis "Hopalong" Cassidy (22 March 1915-5 January 1990) was a Lieutenant-General in the US Army who commanded 1st Battalion, US 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, US 101st Airborne Division on D-Day during World War II.

Biography
Patrick Francis Cassidy's US Army career first became well-known while he was serving as commanding officer of the US 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment's 1st Battalion on D-Day, 6 June 1944, during Operation Overlord of World War II. On 11 June 1944, he directed an assault across a narrow bridge in Normandy during the Battle of Carentan, and he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on 1 July 1944 for his bravery under fire. At the end of the war, he became a combat historian, and, as Major-General, he commanded the US 8th Infantry Division in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany from 1966 to 1968. As Lieutenant-General, he would rise to become deputy commander of the US Eighth Army in South Korea, and he later commanded the US Fifth Army at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He died in 1990.